Work In Progress

(thanks for the inspiration Guro Vince)

Modern society has given us very high expectations - we expect perfection.  In movies and on TV, perfect people with perfect smiles always seem to have the perfect answers for every situation.  Every problem is solved in an hour or less (including commercial breaks).  Flawless models grace the covers of magazines or post relentlessly on Instagram (or at least their Photoshopped avatars do).  Perfect athletes achieve superhuman feats on the pitch or in the ring.  Internet billionaires (or their YouTube avatars) live perfect lives of luxury...the list goes on and on.  We are all caught in an endless cycle of "upgrading" to the next better job, girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband, circle of friends, car, house, jacket, ISP, mobile plan, popular celebrity, etc.  It seems we can never truly be satisfied and the duration of our satiety grows shorter almost by the day.

Very often these external influences cause us to expect perfection from ourselves, too.  We can start to believe that our lives should be like those we see on TV and become disappointed when they aren't.  As this disappointment inevitably repeats itself, and it will since none of us can match an imaginary or fabricated reality, we may even spiral into depression, exhausted at trying to "keep up with the Kardashians".  We encounter hardship, we struggle, and we may feel like giving up.

The truth is that we are all a work in progress.  All of us.  Always.  Every single person we meet.  EVERY SINGLE PERSON has something they are working on, something they are struggling with.  In fact, the ones we see as the most successful are often the ones with the greatest insecurities about their success.  Some of the people I thought were the most "successful" turned out to be the most dysfunctional - dealing with serious mental and emotional issues.  Conversely, some of the people with the most daunting obstacles have risen to some of the greatest feats of human achievement despite them (Stephen Hawking anyone?).  We are NOT absolutes.  Rather, we are a messy, fascinating combination of both crisis and opportunity; hope and despair.

First, we must accept that this is our natural human state of being - flux. We are NOT perfect and perfection, since it is static, cannot possibly be our natural state of being.  We are meant to be on the Journey Toward Perfection.  Embracing our connectedness, we then realize that all of us are on a journey - none of us have arrived - and it is our love, empathy and compassion that fuels those around us to help them continue moving forward.  They, in turn, fuel us.  Together, we rise.

Likewise, I know I haven't failed because I'm not done yet.  I haven't given up. The final results are not out.  There is still time to improve and go farther.  There is still a chance to make a difference and push my life in the right direction toward my goals.  I can still contribute to others and to myself.

We could each choose to wake up every morning filled with dread and worried about what bad things could happen or what could go wrong.  Instead, we could choose to face each day with hopefulness and anticipation at all the endless possible things that could go RIGHT.  Even the smallest positive outcome is worthy of our gratitude.  Even a little bit of change brings us that much closer and shows that we are making progress.  Never forget to celebrate the good, just as we learn from and let go of the bad.

Success is mostly a by-product of perseverance.  It helps me to remember I'm not done yet.  Neither are you.  Not even close.

Please excuse the dust - work in progress.